Social Formations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Formations - Essay Example Anti-consumer activist, therefore, seek to have these brands put the welfare of the consumer first. They seek to instill adherence to the highest ethical standards rather than spending money on sanitizing substandard products for the sake of protecting a brand. Andrew Ross adds another dimension to their mandate. He says a call on the consumers to leverage their buying power and use it effectively to help raise the starvation wages of the individuals employed in the sweatshops (Ross, 107). The focus here is that the compromised quality of products coming out of factories is more the result of the maltreatment of the employees who work in these industries. It is a logical argument that a maltreated employee will have much less incentive to consider the customer as deserving any better. The company, therefore, might lose its core customer base because of a substandard product. The anti-consumer activists also call on the consumers who are demanding value for their money not to wait for structured negotiations between different governments to bring about change (Ross, 105). Using the illustration of the influx of harmful toys from China, the movement says that structured solutions to such unscrupulous business practices will likely take a lon g time before reaching the owners of these sweatshops. In the meantime, the consumers will continue getting exposed to the harmful and substandard products from these companies. For a wholesome product quality, the anti-consumerists aver that there is need to focus on total quality adherence in the entire production chain. Companies should ensure that they guarantee adequate protections and benefits to even their smallest supplier. Just like the factory worker, a supplier who feels unfairly treated will have less incentive to guarantee consistent quality of products. According to Ross, the anti-consumerist activists, and the anti-sweatshop activists have